Don’t be surprised if the Yankees’ terrible defense costs them in postseason

The Yankees played a sloppy game and cannot afford to have these defensive lapses in the postseason.

Outside of Gio Urshela and Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees’ defense isn’t exactly what you’d call “elite.” Some other guys like Aaron Hicks and DJ LeMahieu get the job done but they don’t exactly blow you away.

And it shows, because the Yankees (before Wednesday night) were 28th in Major League Baseball in fielding percentage (.979) and third in errors (38). Both of those stats took a major hit after the Bombers made four errors (should have been five) against the Toronto Blue Jays in an embarrassing loss.

And they’re somehow dead last in the league in assists with 389, which is 13 away from the next closest team!

If New York doesn’t tighten up its defense before the postseason (there are only four games left to do so), they’re going to be in big trouble. One error or one sloppy play can cost you a series, and if we’re being honest, Gleyber Torres at shortstop and Gary Sanchez behind the plate both don’t instill a ton of confidence.

That play right there summed up the entire night — and the official scorer only ruled it one error, somehow.

Would you be surprised if we told you the night got off to a bad start because of … Gary Sanchez? Well, that’s what happened! On his second pickoff attempt throwing to first base, the veteran catcher thought it was a good idea to try it with two outs and runners on the corners. What happened? It was a bad throw that got away from Luke Voit, and a run scored.

Then, Torres made an error on what we could classify as one of the easiest grounders you’ll ever see two innings later. That came with two outs. Vladdy Guerrero, the next batter, creamed an RBI double to make it 3-1.

Aside from all of this being downright embarrassing for a professional baseball team, it’s putting a strain on the pitching staff. Masahiro Tanaka was already laboring enough during his outing, and these three errors ran up his pitch count and compromised his effectiveness. He was pulled after throwing 91 pitches through four innings.

When the Yankees are hot, they’re a near-perfect team. When they’re not, everything appears to fall apart at the seams. The least they could do is play fundamental defense to avoid unraveling on national television.

Yankees Playoffs 2020: Who will New York face in Wild Card series?

The New York Yankees have clinched a spot in the 2020 postseason. Who will they face in the first round for their Wild Card series?